Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: To the Associate Dean of Studies,

My name is Christie McCarthy, and I am appealing to drop my Statistics 263 course for the winter semester of 2016. I would also like to appeal for Aegrotat standing in Biochemistry 218. I have the support of Dr. Allingham (my Biochemistry professor) to do this.

There have been several events that have occurred this semester that were unexpected, and have affected me more than I initially believed. The first thing that happened was I was given a job with Student Works Painting. I thought I would be able to handle this by working twice as hard during the week, but I¿¿ve found that it is more difficult that I initially anticipated. This has really cut back the amount of time I¿¿ve had to study, and put me under a lot of stress, both with school and with the Student Works Painting Company.

While having a job has been stressful, it is not the reason I would like to drop the course. The other major event that occurred more recently is that I was sexually assaulted during the weekend of March 11th. I was in North Bay for work, and as I went out to see some friends, and a man I didn¿¿t know assaulted me. This has been the most stressful event I¿¿ve ever dealt with. I don¿¿t sleep very much, and it¿¿s very restless when I do. I think about it all the time, I can¿¿t seem to get it out of my head. I¿¿m afraid to go out, even with friends, and I¿¿m now afraid to walk alone when it is dark outside. I used to love that; it was always peaceful for me.

There are other minor events that have occurred which have added to my feelings of being overwhelmed. Two of my roommates have been bullying me, and my best friend moved out of our apartment because it was happening to her, too. My parents have been pushing me very hard, especially with a recent drop in my grades, and my Nannie out in New Brunswick just had surgery.

I¿¿ve realized recently that I shouldn¿¿t be going through this alone, and I plan to see a councillor to help me get through some of the incidents. I also plan to keep a closer eye on the course drop dates to ensure I don¿¿t have to appeal again. Unfortunately, I was not aware that I could not drop a course after the drop date I thought I simply had to accept an academic penalty. Now that I am properly informed, I will make sure this does not happen again. I have also decided that, while having a job is very important for me to be able to pay for school, it should not be at the expense of my schoolwork, and I will no longer have a job during the school year. I will only be working in the summertime.

If I am unable to drop Stats 263, though I really hope I can, I will be retaking it next year to prevent a fail from affecting my GPA.

Thank you so much for your time,

Christie McCarthy (10139570)